Let’s get the not-so-great news out of the way first: The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful will air their last original, pre COVID-19 shutdown episodes this week — Thursday, April, 23, specifically. As we previously reported, the CBS sudsers were slightly more than a month ahead when work on both shows came to an abrupt, unprecedented halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The better news — particularly for soap nostalgia buffs — is how CBS plans to fill the 90-minute daytime void. TVLine has learned that beginning Monday, April 27, the network will dip into Y&R and B&B‘s collective 80-year library and present memorable theme weeks. Y&R will kick things off with a week of vintage episodes — some dating back as far as 1990 — centered on iconic Genoa City matriarch Katherine Chancellor (played by the late Jeanne Cooper).
Meanwhile, B&B in its first full week of reruns will feature encore episodes filmed on location in Monte Carlo (date range 2013-17), including two documentary-style episodes featuring behind the scenes footage (these Becoming Bold and Beautiful-branded installments previously aired on PopTV).
Cast members will provide bonus content with fresh commentary at the beginning and end of select episodes. (For details on when NBC’s Days of Our Lives and ABC’s General Hospital will run out of original episodes, read our exclusive report here.)
Ahead of next Monday’s themed-week launch, Y&R this Friday (April 24) will re-air an episode from 1996 that centered on Paul and Christine’s honeymoon (which was complicated by Phyllis’ presence). B&B‘s Friday episode will serve as an early kickoff to its Monte Carlo-themed week.
“It’s incredibly fun to offer fans an opportunity to look back at such memorable moments from Y&R and B&B,” said Amy Reisenbach, CBS’ EVP of Current Programs said in a statement. “Both of these shows have extraordinary legacies, and these specially curated episodes are only a small portion of what we hope to be able to present in the coming weeks.”
Details on additional theme weeks will be announced by CBS in the near future.
Originally Published on Yahoo Entertainment
